The Darkwing Strikes Back
by Writing Avenger 2016
Summary: Launchpad drags the family to a Darkwing Duck convention, hoping to meet his long time hero. However, the one time hero becomes disillusioned with his dreams of heroism. That all changes when an old foe from the past returns to enact revenge. Takes place in the 2017 Ducktales series.


It was a lazy day at McDuck Manor. Donald was busy repairing the houseboat for the second time around while Ms. Beakley and Duckworth's spirit were both going about their chores. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were seated at the dining room table with their Uncle Scrooge, Webby serving the old duck a cup of nutmeg tea. He took the tea, giving her a small smile as he opened the daily paper in his other hand.

"Thank you Webby." Scrooge replied.

"No problem, Scrooge." she replied, eagerly sitting down next him with her own breakfast.

As she shoveled fruity-loops into her beak, Louie leaned on the table and addressed his brothers and "might as well be" sister.

"So here's what I'm thinking." Louie told them. "Viral. Marketing."

Huey and Dewey looked at each other for a moment before turning back to Louie.

"Ok…" Huey replied hesitantly. "But what would we be marketing virally?"

"Eh, that's not important right now." Louie dismissed. "What is important is that we start hooking in suckers- I mean customers soon."

"Well we can't get customers without a subject." Huey reasoned just as Dewey was about to respond. "And no, we are not commercializing Dewey Dew-night."

"Oh come on!" Dewey let out.

"I'm with Huey on this one." Webby spoke up. "No offense, but Dewey Dew-night isn't exactly targeted at an audience that isn't…. Y'know, made out of cleaning supplies."

"Which is why we could branch out." Dewey replied. "Get some fresh eyes on it, bring in the crowds."

"Has anyone outside this house even 'heard' of your show?" Louie asked.

"I didn't even hear about it until Webby mentioned it after your whole 'only child's day' fiasco." Huey added.

Dewey was about to respond, but no words came out.

"Alright fine." He grumbled, crossing his arms and pouting slightly. "But you guys are missing out."

Before the conversation could continue, the doors to the dining room were thrown open. Everyone jumped, causing Scrooge to accidentally spill his tea all over himself. As he yelped and tried to relieve himself of the burning liquid, the kids all turned towards the door. There, stood an out of breath Launchpad, who was carrying a colorful flyer in his hand.

"Guys!" Launchpad cried out. "You will never believe what's coming to Duckburg!"

"The Beagle Boy Deja vus?" Huey guessed.

"Magica De Spell?" Webby offered.

"Another cursed gem Glomgold's gonna try and trick Uncle Scrooge into taking?" Louie tried.

"The Beagle Boy Deja vus?" Dewey guessed.

"None of the above." Launchpad answered, holding up a flyer. "Darkwing Duck!"

He held out the flyer for them all to read. Since Huey was the closest, he leaned forward to read the fine print.

"Come see Jim Starling, the face behind the famous Darkwing Duck tv show live at McDuck stadiums." he recited. "Pictures, autographs, and exclusive clips from the lost episode 'Hot Spells'. 5 dollar admission, that includes you Mr. McDuck."

"Highway robbery if you ask me." Scrooge grumbled. "I own the building. I should be able to get in for free."

Launchpad gave Scrooge a weird look, one that evaporated almost instantly as he turned back to the kids.

"He hasn't done a show in years!" He went on. "I know there was talk of a reboot awhile back, but apparently it fell through. Maybe he's trying again!"

"That seems a little far fetched." Huey reasoned.

"All the more reason to head on over and support Darkwing Duck's triumphant return!" Launchpad declared. "Who's with me?!"

Rather than the happy cheers he was expecting, the kids just seemed to whistling to themselves, looking away from Launchpad or trying to hide behind their cereal. Louie reached into the pocket of his hoodie and pulled out a "how to avoid eye contact monthly" magazine, burying his beak in the pages while Scrooge did the same with his paper

"Dewey?" Launchpad asked, moving over to the blue sibling.

"Uhh… I… would, but I… can't." He tried to answer. "I have a thing… at a place… with a person..."

"Huey?" Launchpad moved on.

"Um… Junior Woodchuck meeting." Huey told him. "Can't miss it, or lose my perfect attendance badge."

"Louie?" Launchpad resumed.

"Absolutely not." Louie told him.

"Webby?" Launchpad picked up.

"Uh… uh… Look, a distraction!" she let out, pointing behind him.

"Where?" Launchpad let out, turning around.

Webby immediately drew her grappling hook, shooting it at the chandelier. She shot out of her seat, landing on top of it just as Launchpad shrugged.

"Eh, not that distracting." Launchpad dismissed before turning to Scrooge. "Mr. McD?"

"Launchpad, I am a very busy man." Scrooge told him, eyes remaining on his newspaper. "Do you honestly think that I can just take time out of my busy day just so you-?"

He paused, as if sensing something going on behind his paper. His face became emotionless as he sighed.

"You're doing that puppy-eyed thing, aren't you?" He guessed.

"What?!" Launchpad let out. "No. Mr. McD, would I honestly stoop so low just so you can take me to see my childhood hero?"

Scrooge's face remained emotionless as he lowered the paper, revealing Launchpad on his knees, his eyes big and sparkly while his lower beak quivered. He sighed, setting down the paper and getting up.

"Get in the limo kids." He relented.

…

One car drive later, which included crashing into a parking meter, the six of them got out and made their way for the stadium. Scrooge glanced at the meter, smirking slightly.

"Can't pay if the meters broken." he mused.

They walked up to the stadium entrance and walked through the doors. Upon entering, they found that only about two dozen people were milling about the event.

"Huh." Dewey let out. "Was kinda expecting a larger turn out. I thought Darkwing Duck was a big thing?"

"He was." Launchpad defended. "About… twenty years ago. But that's why he needs all the support he can get right now!"

Louie looked around, pulling out his phone with a bored expression.

"Well, this is gonna be a boring day." He muttered.

"I'm sure that more people will turn up." Launchpad insisted. "I mean, this is Jim Starling we're talking about here! He's probably raking in the love even as we speak!"

…

"I'm not doing it!" Jim Starling insisted in his dressing room, which doubled as a bathroom stall in the mens room.

Outside the door, a young woman with red hair and purple and green suit stood with a clipboard in her hand.

"C'mon dad." She groaned. "We've been over this. The only way to promote Darkwing Duck again is to try and rally the fans."

"What fans?" Jim threw back. "Hardly anyone turned up to this, and I'm willing to bet they only showed up for the free buffet."

The woman put her hands on her hips, glaring at the door.

"Dad, either you get out there and do this job, or you're going to have to go back to Quackworks and beg for your old job again." she warned him. "And as I recall, you left after calling your boss a 'Infuriating ingrate with the inability to-'"

"Well he was!" Jim insisted before sighing. "Alright, let's get this over with. Who knows, maybe it won't be so bad."

He walked out of the bathroom, straightening the collar of his turtleneck before adjusting his trademark hat.

"Look out world," He declared. "Darkwing Duck is back… I hope."

…

In the vacant basement of the St. Canard lighthouse, a figure sat in a ratty old arm chair, a copy of the Darkwing Duck flyer in his hands.

"This is an insult!" He cried out, crumbling the flyer in his hands. "To think, they would do a Darkwing Duck live appearance, without me?!"

He flew out of his chair, revealing his yellow jumpsuit with goggles, a spark plug on his head, and a battery on his back.

"Me! Elmo Sputterspark!" He continued. "The actor behind Darkwing Duck's arch nemesis, Megavolt! They said I got 'too into character'. They said I caused too many 'accidents' on set. They said 'people got hurt'. They said I was insane!... and boy were they right. But regardless, they will pay for casting me aside!"

He made his way over to a large treadmill that was connected to a single light bulb. The part you walked on was covered in shag carpet, and the handles had special cuffs that locked onto his hands. He stepped on, the cuffs snapping shut.

"I'll show them what a REAL supervillain is like!" He declared, trying to turn on the treadmill with his foot. "Just as... Soon as I... figure out how to turn this thing on!"

Finally, he got the treadmill started and he began running. As he ran on the shag carpet, static electricity began building up.

…

Back at the stadium on the stage floor, a cloud of purple smoke appeared out of nowhere.

"I am the terror that flaps through the night!" A voice called out as a figure emerged from the smoke. "I am the catchphrase, that gets stuck in your head! I am Darkwing Du-"

Darkwing's monologue was cut off by the sight of the very few people there were not watching his entrance. The only one who seemed even remotely interested was Launchpad. Huey, Dewey, and Webby were just watching blankly while Louie was still looking at his phone. Scrooge had disappeared, the words 'free buffet' having lured him over to the food stand. Darkwing looked out amongst the crowd, then sighed.

"I told Gosalyn this was a bad idea." He lamented, sagging a little.

He just soberly walked over to the autograph table where Launchpad immediately ran over to meet him. The pilot nearly crashed into the table, but managed to stop just in time.

"Darkwing Duck!" Launchpad let out. "I am your biggest fan!"

"At the moment, you might be my only fan." Darkwing grumbled. "Alright, what do you want me to sign?"

"Uh…" Launchpad let out, looking around for something for Darkwing to sign for him.

He quickly picked up Dewey and held him out to him.

"Sign this child please." Launchpad asked.

"Hey!" Dewey protested.

"Whatever, what's your name?" Darkwing asked.

"Launchpad McQuack." He told him, causing Darkwing to chuckle a bit.

"No seriously, what's your name?" Darkwing insisted.

"That is his name." Dewey told him.

"Seriously?" Darkwing questioned, with Dewey nodding in response. "Fine."

He grabbed a marker and prepared to write on Dewey. Webby quickly came to his rescue, snagging a glossy off the table and putting it up in front of Dewey just in time.

"To my pal, Launchpad," Darkwing said as he wrote, whispering "fake name" under breath. "Best of wishes, yours, Darkwing Duck."

Webby then handed the glossy to Launchpad, who gasped in response, causing him to drop Dewey.

"Darkwing Duck's autograph!" He let out. "This is the best day of my life!"

"I'm glad one of us is happy." Darkwing remarked, sighing as he sagged on the table.

…

After running for several hours, Elmo's body began surging with electricity. This seemed to be too much for the treadmill to handle, causing it to explode and send Elmo flying into a wall.

"Ow…." He let out, sliding down the wall.

He immediately sprang back up in excitement.

"I can feel it!" He let out. "I can feel the power coursing through my veins! I feel… kinda woozy from running for three hours without so much as a bathroom break to be honest."

He then raised his hands, which surged with power. He then shot them forward, firing an energy blast that destroyed a part of the wall.

"It worked!" He declared. "Megavolt! LIVES!"

He then began laughing maniacally as random lighting bolts fired from his body. One of them fired at the lightbulb, blanketing the room in darkness, save for the eerie glow coming from Megavolt himself.

"Now to finally get my revenge, on Darkwing Duck." He swore.

…

Back at the stadium, Darkwing was just slumped over in his chair as people passed him by. The young woman from before walked out to see how things were going, eventually setting eyes upon her father.

"Dad, how are things-?" she cut off, letting out an annoyed sigh. "Again? Really?"

Hearing her voice, Launchpad stopped in his tracks, turning around

"No way." Launchpad let out, turning towards her. "You're Gosalyn Waddlemeyer."

The triplets and Webby turned as well, somewhat confused.

"Who?" they all asked in unison.

"Gosalyn Waddlemeyer, the daughter of a former producer on the show." Launchpad explained. "After he died in an accident on set caused by some whacko actor, Jim Starling took her in. They incorporated her into the show as Gosalyn Mallard, Darkwing's spirited daughter, as well as the hero Quiverwing Quack."

Gosalyn glanced over, a smile on her beak.

"Wow, not many people remember the whole Quiverwing Quack arc." she remarked. "Most just remember me as the girl with 'a lot of spirit'."

"I've seen every episode about 27 times." Launchpad shared. "Your evolution from free spirited daughter to full blown hero was amazing."

"So, what happened to the show?" Dewey asked. "Launchpad talks about it like it was the biggest thing in the world."

"It was, for a time." Gosalyn explained. "Then there was that whole Hot Spell controversy, and then the censors got all uppity. Ratings plummeted and the show got canned."

"Wow." Huey let out. "Guessing your dad didn't take it well."

Gosalyn shook her head.

"Not in the slightest." she agreed. "He got an office job for a time so he could put me through school, but hated every minute of it. After I graduated, we tried to get the show rebooted. Unfortunately, nobody seems to be interested in 'The Terror that Flaps in the Night' anymore."

Back at the table, Darkwing just ran his finger across the table as one of the patrons walked up to him.

"Excuse me?" He spoke, causing Darkwing to prop up.

"A fan!" He exclaimed. "Yes! Whatever it is, autograph, photo, multi picture movie deal, I'll do it!"

"Uh… I was just gonna ask if you validate parking." He told him, causing his enthusiasm to disappear.

"That's it!" He declared, walking off. "The event is over!"

"Finally!" Scrooge let out.

"And no refunds!" Darkwing added.

"Curse me kilts." Scrooge cursed.

As Darkwing went backstage, Gosalyn chased after him, looking more than a little worried.

"Dad, what are you doing?" She asked. "You can't just leave in the middle of the event! We still have the place reserved for another two hours!"

"What's the point?!" Jim asked, pulling off his hat and mask. "You saw the dismal crowds out there, the show is kaput. It was a fool's errand to even try."

"So that's it?" Gosalyn asked. "You're just gonna give up? Dad, Darkwing Duck is your dream! You build him from the ground up! You can't just give up!"

"Gos, nobody cares about Darkwing Duck anymore." Jim told her. "Why bother fighting for something that no one believes in?"

At that moment, the doors to the stadium were blasted open, revealing Megavolt entering the room.

"Hello Duckburg!" He exclaimed. "Get ready to fry!"

The four kids instinctively turned towards the villain, Louie letting out a relieved sigh.

"Finally, some excitement." he said as he turned on his phone's video recorder.

As Louie did that, the others turned to Scrooge, thinking he had the answer.

"What?!" He let out. "Not every super powered lunatic in this city is out to get me."

"That's right, McDuck." Megavolt confirmed. "I'm not here for you. I'm here for Darkwing Duck!"

"The character?" Huey questioned.

"No, the pudding pop." Megavolt replied sarcastically. "Of course the character!"

Scrooge just sighed in response.

"Alright, I got this." Scrooge promised, stepping forward and putting on his adventure voice. "Alright, ya wattage wacko. Come quietly, or-"

Before Scrooge could finish, Megavolt blasted him and sent him flying into a wall.

"Uncle Scrooge!" The kid all cried out.

"That's right, boys and girls, I mean business!" Megavolt promised."And soon, Christmas will be ruined! Wait, that's not right."

From backstage, Jim and Gosalyn heard the commotion and went to investigate. As they peeked through the curtain, they found themselves going wide-eyed at the sight of Megavolt amongst the crowd of stunned (and somewhat confused) spectators.

"Is that… Elmo Sputterspark?" Gosalyn questioned in surprise.

"I haven't seen him since Mr. Rockwell fired him." Jim recalled. "What's he doing here?"

Megavolt shot out a bolt of lightning at one of the doors, preventing some terrified patrons from escaping.

"And since when could he do that?!" Jim questioned.

"I don't know, but I don't think he's here for the free buffet." Gosalyn told him. "We've got to do something!"

Thinking instinctively, she grabbed her old bow and arrow set from her Quiverwing Quack costume and walked towards Megavolt. As an afterthought, she also snagged her mask and hat.

"If I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do this right." she decided.

"Gosalyn, what are you doing?!" Jim questioned.

"Trying to save people from getting hurt." She replied.

She then went out onto the floor and notched back an arrow.

"Alright Elmo, what the heck are you doing here?" she questioned.

Megavolt turned around and saw Gosalyn aiming an arrow at him.

"Ah, if it isn't little Gosalyn Waddlemeyer." He replied sarcastically. "You look like you're doing well. Fire anymore ASPIRING TALENT since last we met?!"

"Elmo, you were a horrible actor and a maniac." She told him. "One of your little accidents dropped an entire light fixture on my grandpa!"

"Hey, I said I was sorry." Megavolt insisted.

"Get lost, before I make you wish you'd never left St. Canard!" Gosalyn shouted.

"I have a better idea." He replied. "Eat wattage!"

He then shot another energy bolt at her, causing her to leap out of the way before firing an arrow at him. Unfortunately, it was a prop arrow, so the rubber tip harmlessly bounced off his chest plate. She watched that happen, then winced.

"Oops." she let out. "I forgot those weren't real."

"Uh, was that supposed to hurt?" Megavolt asked.

"Hang on Quiverwing!" Launchpad called out, running towards Megavolt. "I got this guy!"

"Who's that guy?" Megavolt asked. "Did you guys write in a new character after I left?"

"Uh, no, he's just a big fan." Gosalyn told him.

"Oh, well in that case." Megavolt replied before firing another energy blast at him.

The blast knocked Launchpad towards the stage, disorienting him. Seeing that Megavolt was about to fire another blast, Jim quickly grabbed Launchpad and pulled him backstage.

"Nuts!" Megavolt cried out, snapping his fingers in disappointment before turning to the others. "Oh well, at least I have you to play with."

"We'll see about that!" Webby declared.

She drew her grappling hook to try and fight back, but Megavolt merely zapped it, causing it to malfunction and tangle her up in the line.

…

Backstage, Launchpad slowly pulled himself from unconsciousness to see Jim standing over him.

"You alright there, big guy?" He asked.

Launchpad groaned, rubbing his head as he sat up.

"Well, not the worst crash I've ever had." He remarked. "What about you, DW?"

"Aside from a wounded pride with a side of crushed hopes and dreams, couldn't be better." He replied.

"Well come on!" Launchpad told him, getting to his feet. "We gotta stop Megavolt from destroying the stadium!"

"What's the point?!" Jim asked.

Launchpad froze up before turning back to Darkwing.

"What's the point?" Launchpad repeated. "How can you ask something like that? You're Jim Starling, the man behind Darkwing Duck!"

"Darkwing Duck was just some character I came up with!" Jim told him. "Heck, my real name isn't even Jim Starling… it's Drake Mallard."

"Wait a minute, wasn't that the name of Darkwing Duck's secret identity in the show?" Launchpad questioned.

"The producers thought my name was 'too mild mannered' for a TV star." Drake groaned, doing air quotes around 'too mild mannered'. "And yet it was perfect for the character I was playing."

He snorted, crossing his arms irritably.

"Hollywood." he muttered.

"But that just makes you and Darkwing all the more one and the same." Launchpad insisted.

"Don't you get it?!" Drake snapped. "There is no Darkwing Duck! It's all fake! Just a dumb idea so I could play being a hero!"

"But… but it's not." Launchpad insisted. "You did all your own stunts."

"Big deal." Drake dismissed.

"You took on your producer's daughter, and demanded she get added into the show so you could always be there for her!" Launchpad went on.

"He… was a close friend." Drake defended, faltering a little.

"And most of all, you were a hero to me." Launchpad told him. "Your heroic exploits helped me conquer my fear of flying."

This honestly caught Drake off guard.

"Wait, seriously?" Drake asked.

"Yeah, used to be terrified of flying." Launchpad answered. "My parents had to get me a low chair as a kid instead of a highchair. But you inspired me to conquer my fear. You taught me that when life gets nasty, you don't run in fear. You face it head on. And if you get hurt, so what? At least you tried."

Drake just sat in contemplation as Launchpad went towards the curtain.

"When things got tough I always used to ask myself, 'what would Darkwing Duck do?'." He shared. "Maybe you should ask the same."

With that, Launchpad returned to the fight, being met with a few electricity blasts along the way. Drake just sat alone, thinking about all Launchpad had said. He then looked up and saw several posters of the show, showcasing Darkwing's heroic exploits. Then, Drake sprouted a look of determination on his face, knowing what he had to do.

…

Back out on the floor, Megavolt began shooting wildly, causing the kids to scatter. Gosalyn had tried to shoot more of her arrows at Megavolt, even if all they did was annoy him since they were nothing but rubber tips.

"Hey, these things are starting to tickle." He commented.

Eventually, she ran out of arrows, but then used her bow to smack Megavolt across the face. He stumbled backwards, rubbing his jaw as she got into a fighting position.

"Dad's not the only one who did his own stunts." she reminded him.

"Cute." Megavolt told her. "So's this!"

He then blasted her into the same wall Scrooge was leaning against. As Megavolt moved towards them, Launchpad came up from behind.

"Oh no you-" he declared trying to grab him.

Upon contact however, Launchpad became electrocuted, spasming randomly and yelling the entire time. He eventually fell to the ground, his clothes singed and his eye twitching.

"-don't..." he coughed.

"Man, and they said I had a few screws loose." Megavolt remarked.

"You do!" Gosalyn reminded.

"Oh yeah." Megavolt recalled. "Then I guess deep frying you will keep in character then."

"I am the terror, that flaps in the night!" an eerie voice called out.

Megavolt perked up in shock as Gosalyn and Launchpad both perked up. The other patrons and the rest of the Duck family did the same.

"Dad?" Gosalyn let out.

Just then, a cloud of smoke appeared on stage.

"I am the series reboot, that fails to excite." Darkwing continued as he emerged from the smoke, in full costume and with a trademark flare of his cape. "I am Darkwing Duck!"

Instantly, Launchpad squealed in fanboy-ish delight, cheering happily for the return of his hero.

"It's Darkwing Duck!" He exclaimed.

The other patrons just looked at him in surprise.

"Ok…" Darkwing let out. "Just… gonna ignore that."

He then leapt out onto the floor in front of Megavolt.

"I hear you've been looking for me, Megavolt." Darkwing replied. "Well here I am."

"Good." Megavolt responded. "I've waited more than twenty years to do this!"

He then shot at Darkwing, but he quickly leapt out of the way.

"You always were a terrible aim, Sputterspark!" Darkwing called out. "Even when you were supposed to miss!"

"It's Megavolt now!" The electrified villain snapped. "I've embraced who I truly am! The greatest villain of St. Canard!"

"Really?" Darkwing replied. "Cause according to the fanbase, Dr. Slug was my greatest nemesis."

"What?!" Megavolt let out. "That bug brain couldn't tell a good evil plan from his own slime entrails!"

"Isn't a good evil plan a contradiction in terms?" Huey asked, peeking out from his hiding place.

"Quiet kid, the adults are talking." Megavolt told him before turning to Darkwing. "Eat wattage, Duck!"

Darkwing leapt out of the way, backflipping over to Gosalyn. He held out a hand for her to help her up.

"Come on, Quiverwing." he told her, smiling happily. "Why don't we remind this low-watt lunatic why the show was called Darkwing Duck."

Gosalyn, or Quiverwing at this point, gratefully took her father's hand and got to her feet. Darkwing then turned to Scrooge, offering a similar hand.

"As much as I appreciate the help, this one is a personal matter." he informed the old scotsman. "You protect your family, we'll handle Megavolt."

"Fine, but I warn you, this one's dangerous." Scrooge told him.

"In that case," Darkwing spoke. "Lets. Get. Dangerous."

"He said it..." Launchpad let out. "He said it!"

Megavolt began blasting at the two of them, causing them to scatter. Seeing he was near a souvenir table, he grabbed one of his commemorative plates and held it up as Megavolt blasted again, causing the blast to redirect back at him. Megavolt yelped in surprise, being sent skidding backwards. There, Quiverwing struck with her bow, catching him once in the gut and twice in the jaw before kicking him back at Darkwing. From their hiding spot, the triplets and Webby all watched in awe.

"Please tell me you're getting this, Louie." Webby begged.

"You kidding, there's no way I'm missing this." Louie replied, recording the entire event on his phone.

As the fight continued, Gosalyn noticed a nearby fire extinguisher attached to the wall. Getting an idea, she slid over to it, grabbing it and tossing it towards Darkwing.

"Dad, heads up!" she called.

Darkwing quickly caught the fire extinguisher and aimed it at Megavolt.

"Suck foam, evildoer!" Darkwing declared before spraying him with it.

The onslaught of foam disoriented him for a moment, but he quickly recovered and wiped the foam from his goggles.

"Was that supposed to do anything?" Megavolt asked.

"Eyup." Darkwing nodded. "Distract you long enough for Launchpad to reach the Fire Alarm."

"What?!" Megavolt exclaimed, turning towards the alarm, where Launchpad had his hand on the handle..

"You're all washed up!" Launchpad declared, pulling the fire alarm. "See what I did there?"

The sprinkler system turned on, soaking the electrified villain and instantly shorting him out. He yelped and fizzed before falling to the ground, occasionally sparking and spasming.

"Launchpad, how'd you know that would work?" Huey questioned.

"Easy, almost every time Darkwing defeated Megavolt in the series was by shorting him out." Launchpad explained.

Suddenly, the entire stadium was filled with the sound of applause. Patrons and staff alike were all clapping and cheering, the triplets and Webby even throwing in a few whistles of gratitude. Gosalyn approached her father, giving him a knowing grin.

"Still think the Darkwing franchise is dead?" she asked.

"Maybe not." Darkwing conceded.

…

Sometime later, the police were taking Megavolt away for transfer to St. Canard Penitentiary. Scrooge was talking to the police officers off to the side, though a more accurate description would be chewing the poor guys out.

"And I never want to see this low-wattage low life anywhere near Duckburg again!" He demanded. "Mark my words, they'll be trouble if he ever does show up again."

"This isn't the end of Megavolt!" He promised, being shoved into a police van. "I'll get you Darkwing! And your little dog too! Wait, that isn't right."

Once the door was slammed shut, the van drove away. From the roof of the stadium, Darkwing, Gosalyn, Launchpad, and the kids were looking on. Louie passed his phone to Darkwing, the freshly posted video playing on the screen.

"Seems your fans are coming out of the woodwork to support you now." He told the hero. "My video got 10,000 views within 30 minutes of posting it."

"Looks like you might get your show back after all, DW." Launchpad told him.

"A nice thought," Darkwing admitted. "But I've decided to give up the showbiz thing."

"What?!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Dad, you can't just give it up!" Gosalyn insisted. "What about what happened back there? You were on fire!"

"I know!" Darkwing replied. "That's why I'm gonna stop playing Darkwing Duck, and actually 'be' Darkwing Duck!"

Everyone's beaks dropped, though Gosalyn quickly picked hers up and smiled.

"You mean…?" she asked.

"Yep." he nodded. "St. Canard needs a hero. And besides, it's what Darkwing Duck would do. Right, Launchpad?"

"You know it, Darkwing." Launchpad replied. "Say, if you need a sidekick…"

"I appreciate the offer," Darkwing told him, wrapping an arm around Gosalyn's shoulders. "But I already have a sidekick."

Gosalyn's eyes brightened as she broke out into a grin.

"Keen gear!" she cheered, hugging Darkwing around the neck.

"Although, if we ever need a pilot, I know who to call." Darkwing reassured.

"And I'll be there!" Launchpad promised. "Just… be ready for some rocky landings."

"He crashes." Dewey explained. "Every. Single. Time."

"Noted." Darkwing replied.

He stood up, taking Gosalyn with him as he left the stadium.

…

Atop the spire of the Audubon Bay Bridge, Darkwing and Gosalyn finished setting up shop in their new lair.

"Luckily I still have friends in the prop department who could whip us up some actual gear." Darkwing shared. "Even hooked me up with this real gas gun."

Gosalyn smirked as her dad twirled the gun in his hand, sticking it in the holster under his jacket.

"I managed to get myself some real arrows as well." she reported. "But I also managed to convince the studio to let us have something I know you'll love."

She led Darkwing over to an object covered with a tarp. Setting him up in front of it, she pulled the cover off, revealing the original Ratcatcher.

"The Ratcatcher?!" Darkwing marveled. "But I thought this got scrapped years ago."

"Nah, they just stuck it in the back room and forgot about it." Gosalyn clarified. "They were more than happy to let me take it off their hands."

Darkwing just hugged Gosalyn, prompting her to return the gesture. Just then, the large TV console in the tower turned on, displaying a news feed from downtown St. Canard. On the screen, a reporter was standing in front of what could only be described as a warzone.

" **This just in, Harold Quackerjack, the actor behind the infamous toy-loving villain from Darkwing Duck has arisen once again. He's unleashed an army of tin soldiers on the city, declaring at 'if that dunce Elmo can do it, why can't I'.** "

"I guess turning TV characters into supervillains is becoming a fad." Gosalyn remarked.

"Looks like." Darkwing replied. "What do you say we show them that St. Canard is under our protection?"

Gosalyn grinned, taking off her suit to reveal her Quiverwing Quack uniform underneath. She grabbed her mask and hat, slinging her quiver over her shoulder.

"I say, Let's get dangerous!"

With that, the two heroes hopped onto the Ratcatcher and sped off into the night, signaling all of St. Canard that Darkwing Duck was back.


End file.
